Trust as a competitive advantage

Abstract

As technology moves forward, digital marketing provides fresh opportunities for brands and marketers. At the same time, however, it also becomes more complex. This paper discusses how understanding non-digital characteristics, such as trust, is becoming ever more important for brands, particularly at a time of increasing polarisation in society. The paper argues that brands should view trust as a source of competitive advantage and provides evidence to support this. Specifically, the paper will show that brands that manage to build and maintain trust will see increased conversion rates, higher brand awareness and stronger loyalty from consumers.